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prior listings

 

• COMPOUND 10/31/00 
  Description: .N01E8 : GRAPHICAL EXPERIENCE — uncommercial graphic project
  Comments: "Sorry, 800x600 guys — it's not for you."  Don't let it alarm ya, because the cool splash page virtually fits 800x600 and the cool visual content is presented in smaller popups.  I have a feeling the designer is making a statement, though.  While many of us still design for the lowest common denominator (i.e. 640 x480 and old, crappy browsers), the world has changed before our eyes and we'll all have to make a choice at some point in time to start ignoring those who are resistant to change and keeping up.  I guess we do have to be sensitive to those who can't afford to upgrade their monitors, but it costs nothing to upgrade a browser these days.  Actually, now that I think of it, the designer might not be making a statement at all — maybe I am :')
  
  
  
  Anyway, that splash page you'll find at today's pick is pretty cool.  Calling it an "obtuse angle experiment" and using all those different blue shades I like so well, the designer seems obsessed with the beauty of 45° angles.  The blend of tasty images and angled lines and dotted-line markers and arrows all seem to illustrate perfect balance to me.  The content is primarily visual and I love the senses of color and emotion in the work... good stuff.
   
• nosepilot 10/30/00 
  Description: my dear swordfighting nun, i'm riding an exploding robotic duck across dry land. be gentle with the rhinocerous. yours, anette. (Flash)
  Comments: My friend, Jeff Clark, recently asked a number of independent web producers "What is the primary motivation for the production of your web content? Put another way, why do you do what you do?"  Though I haven't responded yet, his question has been on my mind in a big way since he asked it. 
  
  
  
  I have a feeling that if I asked the producer of today's pick the same question (and got an answer), it might help me understand even more about my own motivation (as do some of the responses already found at Jeff's site.  I could ask, I guess, but I haven't a clue who he/she is — I don't even know if he/she will know that they won today's award, because I had to guess what the email address might be for sending the notification.  Art can be mysterious, dontcha think?
  
  
  
  So — today's pick is about thinking entirely outside the norm.  You'll need Flash to view it, and more important, you'll have to temporarily suspend that urge to click-click-click.  It's got no user interface, though it does give you one choice at the end.  That's about 25 minutes after you started and the first time you are given anything to click on.  I expect you to say "Joe, you have got to be kidding. You mean this thing is 25 minutes long and all I can do is watch it?"  And I would answer "You do it all the time — you're just not in front of the television in this case!"  Let's all start the week on a different foot, shall we?  Enjoy!
   
• microbians.com 10/29/00 
  Description: "experimental arts media inspiration" – News about playground design scene and experimental labs in DHTML and Flash.
  Comments: It's bad enough that I'm constantly using the word "cool" around here — it's a word that's overused, misunderstood, and abused on the web — to one it might mean cheap airline tickets while to another, it might have more to do with the medium than the message, and on and on.  And if that's not bad enough, the word "award" is next in line — anyone can give out awards.  In fact, doing that is one of the oldest tricks in the book when it comes to getting people to promote your website for free while getting them to think that they've accomplished something worthy of meaningful recognition — they post the graphic and link back to you, and their visitors are the lucky recipients of your advertising messages and banners — and here I am, constantly using that word "award" and risking that it will be confused with all that nonsense that turns people off so effectively.  To top it off, I'm about to use another word I've heard myself one time too many, but what the heck!  I've got nothing to lose at this point.  "Cutting-edge" — there!  I've said it... cutting-edge.  I need to say it because today's pick cannot be adequately described unless I do.
  
  
  
  I spent many hours yesterday playing around with some code and thank Gabriel for the hefty dose of inspiration.  He'll let you download it right from his site (but, please respect the terms of the General Public License if you do, so nice people like Gabriel will continue sharing).  That's were I think "cutting-edge" comes in as a most appropriate description.  He's added value to what another innovator came up with by using DHTML and JavaScript to add important functionality which make "chromeless windows" work the way they should.  As cool as it gets, this cutting-edge concept definitely gets today's award!  There's all three of those buzzwords in one sentence for ya — am I a jiveturkey or what!!!
  
  
  
  Oh...yeah, that's not even the whole point.  The experimental stuff in the "lab" will knock your friggin' socks off, too, unless, of course, you still use Netscape, and then it's your own fault that you won't enjoy it to the maximum 'cause what was "cutting-edge" four years ago is now yesterday's news.  Enjoy...
   
• desktopimage 10/26/00 
  Description: dedicated to the free distribution of desktop images (Flash)
  Comments: Though I'll usually take a pass on featuring a site that's sized for viewing at 1024x768 or higher resolution, it looks like today's pick actually laid it out so that if you're set at 800x600, the key part of the interface just fits within your view.  It's the unique Flash interface I really like about this one.  The three dimensional look and feel coming from the angled perspective is realistic... done quite well.  As far as content goes, the site is rich in free desktop images submitted by artists from all over the world.  They make it a point to tell you that there's no gimmicks or commercial motives behind it all — artists submit their images to provide content and get some free exposure in return.  I like the simple, straightforward attitude behind it and those big desktop images are fun to look at, whether you download 'em or not.
   
• speech therapy 10/22/00 
  Description: it's all in the name i suppose. daily blog, interviews, useful articles and how to's for you to benefit from -- great stories of idiotic things people do
  Comments: "The Web is growing into a springboard for only the 'best of the best'."  The similarity between the phrase he uses and the name of the "award" being given to his site today sets me thinking — if nobody tries to do anything to expose outstanding websites that goes beyond what typical portals offer, the creative side of the web will largely remain undiscovered and unappreciated.  Like Six, many go to sites like threeoh or k10k when they're looking for new ground to walk on — I do myself.  It's important to stop right here and say that what's "outstanding" or "the best" is a really subjective thing.  When one of inspirational portals mentioned above points you to a site, or when CoolSTOP picks a site (as an example of one of "the numerous sites which grant these awards" — hmmmmm.... seems we get labeled, too), it doesn't mean that anybody is defining how websites should be designed — there are no arbiters of cool!  I spend a large portion of my online time enjoying sites that you won't find listed at the great inspirational portals or here, for that matter.  Maybe "best of the best" is a valid type of categorizing that can be utilized without causing discouragement or invalidating the other 9 out of 10 sites who "don't fit" into such a category.  Maybe "best of the best" is something worth aspiring to.  In the end, maybe "best of the best" really doesn't mean a darn thing.  With that said, I'll say nothing about today's pick except that it is a well-designed site offered up by an honest and talented individual who obviously loves the medium.  Great content (don't miss the interviews) and a superb way with words.  For what it's worth (and in my humble, yet consistent opinion), today's pick belongs with the Best of the Cool, and you can quote me on that, whether you agree or not.
   
• NIKDAUM.COM 10/21/00 
  Description: Site features the weird art and ego of Nik Daum.
  Comments: Personal site supreme!  Nik Daum, "one of the most recognizable faces in the world" and quite the artist, lets it all hang out and does it well.  I'm not sure where to point you first, 'cause it's all good.  I'd say the "bio" is as good a place to start as any, and if you're not quite in the mood for what he's telling you about himself, just reload the page and a whole new side of this character will present itself.  I think Nik's probably as random as that bio thing is.  And the splash page which is really a nice navigator, shows a random piece of his "weird art" and, to tell you the truth, that was the first thing I clicked, being the sucker for visuals that I am.  Cool stuff — the main page for the art section is unique — mouseover one of the titles on the long list for a preview and it's all nicely categorized for you.  I think I like this a lot better than a page full of thumnails.  Then, there's "N-the book" which is even more about the art and ego of this interesting person — "Through the changes in his life his nature is revealed. But for each piece of knowledge gained, more seems thoroughly concealed."  Well said — go spend some time with Nik — you WILL enjoy it. (Oh, yeah — this is about sites, right?  Then, insert "cool design" and "perfect navigation" wherever you want in the above.)
   
• Adrenalab 10/20/00 
  Description: a freelance design project
  Comments: Today's pick seems to be a blueprint that follows the producer's development as a designer.  Luca launched the site in August, 1999 as "a way to live my design experience" and describes it as "a simple project with many dreams and a lot of energy."  It seems to be an experimental place to try out new layouts and ideas, and the upcoming November issue plans to turn this from a one-man-show into a collaboration of several other designers along with Luca.  I really like the 3d look of the interface — the design is clean and crisp and the colors are earthy and quite visually appealing.  The graphics are superb throughout, and though it is very much a work in progress, the portfolio of sites and covers is enough to carry it at the moment.  That blueprint sort of look (at least that's the impression I get) throughout the site gives me the impression that it will become rich in content before not too long.  Laura, one of the other designers, already has a section up and if all those choices on the menu eventually become active links, we may be in for quite a show.  There's a lot to explore here and even more to look forward to — I'm inspired by the design and if you read a little in Luca's "unit," you might be inspired, too — it's his love for design that's driving this puppy.
   
• Shiptergizem 10/18/00 
  Description: shifting the gears - a few of my flash measurement studies
  Comments: In this "business" of picking websites, it's easy to erroneously rule a site out when the navigation doesn't work as expected.  I click and nothing happens and the first thought is "it don't work."  Yeah, I know that was bad grammar, silly, but that's how the thought occurs.  Anyway, I've gotta be careful to not jump to that conclusion too fast because the problem might not be that it doesn't work — the problem might be that I don't understand it yet.  Though the usability experts will tell you that it should work as expected because the typical user is too stupid to deal with having to learn new things on top of what they already don't know about the technology, I think that's a bunch of hoo!  Sometimes, what makes a great website is that it challenges the user a bit — instead of assuming that the user is some non-thinking bozo, innovators will assume the opposite and put something before the user that actually empowers him/her by saying "here it is, now think through it."  I ended up enjoying today's pick because it gave me something new to figure out (with a little help) and once I got it, I was impressed with the idea as well as with my patience and ability to overcome my initial misunderstanding of it.  The three Flash "measurement studies" are quite interesting, and it looks like Nic learned something from someone else who was willing to share their code, and, in turn, invites you to download his code and learn from it... cool spirit.  But what I really liked was the collection of covers and how they're presented.  The unique interface is waycool once you get the knack and the content is engaging on several levels — mathematical and visual.  Cool site, Nic!
   
• dack.com 10/14/00 
  Description: the 2¢ of Dack Ragus, a guy living in Minneapolis, MN (USA) who likes to golf, cocktail, and watch movies ... in that order
  Comments: For over a month now, I've been sitting on several questions that someone sent me.  They wanted to interview me and I thought "what the heck" and said "I'm game."  They wanted to know how I decide what's "cool" and if awards "work" and since then, I've come to the realization that calling this an award site is probably one the dumbest things I've ever done in my life.  I don't know what's "cool" any better than you, my friend, and if awards are supposed to "work" in some way, maybe someone can fill me in.  So, those questions are sitting way back there behind the back burner, if you know what I'm saying...
  
  
  
  I guess today's pick will show you that it's not always about design around here.  Frankly, I don't care for the pukey yellow background and bland layout, but when the content amuses me a little, there's days (like today) that I might just decide "you're cool."  Anybody who could actually conceive a list of things that suck with 1,100 entries on it obviously is in this web thing for the long haul.  His copyright says 1978-2000 on it and I'm inclined to think that maybe it's true — maybe he started that long list of things that suck 22 years ago, long before the web — yeah, right!  The weblog's kinda interesting and there's also sections on golf, movies and stocks — a real hodgepodge of content from someone with more to say than most will wanna hear.  I guess the moral of the story is that on those days when I just can't put my finger on a site that's "cool" in terms of those stuffy criteria I normally use, you can at least count on my pointing to something that might be, at least, amusing and fun to visit — then again, maybe not — that's for you to decide...
   
• Bill Charles Represents 10/12/00 
  Description: represents professional photographers specializing in fashion, portraiture, the fine-arts, lifestyles and still-life
  Comments: I came across today's pick via another pretty cool site (that's still in the coming soon stage), and decided to go with it, despite the fact that it's obviously somewhat commercial.  Why?  "Isn't that twice this week, Joe?"  If anybody really reads this stuff, I'm out to make a point about the ongoing "commercial vs. non-commercial" issue that seems to be intensifying lately here at CoolSTOP (or at least in my inbox).  "Primarily non-commercial" is the phrase I used to use to describe the type of sites that are featured here, and nobody seemed to understand what that meant.  As a result, I canned the "primary" part of it and got more strict in the criteria to try to cut down the ridiculous number of totally commercial websites that sought to use CoolSTOP as a source of free advertising and promotion.  Well, my friends, "primarily non-commercial" is really what I meant to say and today's pick is a perfect example of what might fit that description.  Though the producer is a professional agent for professional photographers, the site does not come off like a store in a strip mall with sleazy salesmen breathing down your neck.  In fact, there's no selling going on at this site at all.  Rather, it presents samples of the works of about a dozen talented photographers — it's not here to do a selling job at all — it's an online gallery of great photography that you can visit and enjoy without feeling like you're expected to buy, buy, buy.  You're invited to simply contact them if you want to see full portfolios — no pressure, no hype, no online selling — how you use the site is entirely up to you. I'm really glad, because the site is designed exceptionally well and provides some really cool photos.  I'm sure I confused you guerilla marketing types even more (and the sleazy salemen among you will never get it).  But, if you like looking at great photography, you'll like this site.
   
• The Horus Project 10/11/00 
  Description: Harmony of image, sound and motion. Using today's techniques for tomorrow's design. (Flash)
  Comments: Today's pick is sure to test your patience — it did mine.  This is a one of a kind Flash experience, but if you're in a hurry, you won't make it to the heart of the site.  Every screen is a visual art masterpiece — the first few load quickly and are quite pleasing.  They represent the image side of things well, but to reach the true "harmony of image, sound and motion" that is promised here, you'll need to commit almost 10 minutes to the first sample of it.  A powerful message is slowly delivered line by line with an audio track that is somewhat hypnotic and a small motion graphic below it that adds to the spell.  This is where you have to choose what's important to you — there's no "skip intro" to provide an escape, and it's all up to you.  If you decide to get into it and abandon that urge to click through, though you can't, and fight that overwhelming inclination to simply close the window and move on, you eventually end up in a place that you'll appreciate.  This is where you'll find the greatest masterpiece with navigation to some extraordinary content — the "harmony of image, sound and motion" is delivered as promised.  You just have to appreciate the daring approach of Eric and Shane in putting you through the test and the hard work and masterful creativity behind it.  My suggestion?  Decide to be patient and do it!
   
• her place 10/10/00 
  Description: "one of those moments when u feel that a simple, little, almost unnoticeable thing can do miracles"
  Comments: Simple, but hardly plain.  I picture an untapped bundle of creative energy that has to start somewhere, even if just gradually.  Today's pick looks like it's been around since October 1st, or maybe that's just the date that Liisa decided to start adding some words to the mix.  From what I can see, the city in Estonia that Liisa's in is right on the Gulf of Finland.  She attended the Estonian Academy of Arts and her portfolio consists of several pieces of furniture she designed while there — two chairs that are absolutely beautiful.  The magic of her simple site is that it'll leave you looking forward to seeing what comes next.  Then, there's the little gallery of photographs — special people in her life and visions of friends and parties and, once again, I can't wait to see what gets added to it.  The colors she uses are smooth... quite warm in my mind.  This simple site, though limited in content at the moment, is bound to become something quite special when that untapped energy turns into design in motion... bring it on Liisa!
   
• sardonic 10/8/00 
  Description: a site for the underappreciated designers – exposing the unexposed
  Comments: I first came across today's pick a few days ago when it was submitted to the openNetwork.  The description caught my eye — "everyone knows who mschmidt and zeldman are.. this is for the stuggling artist."  I checked it out briefly and thought it was pretty cool, thinking "better keep this one in mind" and listed it as a daily pointer at  the dailywebthing, and also showed the cool site description with some stuff I posted in the webstream.  On the next day, at 3:00 a.m. noless, Mr. Z. mentioned the site in his daily column, and once again, I thought to myself, "better keep this one in mind."  Later that same day, the site appeared yet again to me among the submissions to the Portal Cool Zone, and keeping it in back of my mind changed to bringing it to the fore and getting into it in a big way.  The little chain of events that kept today's pick in my mind for several days, indeed, did me a big favor — I love the concept and spirit behind this site — it gives everyone a chance to show their stuff.  Writing, design, and music are the main categories and in the short time since its rebirth and redirection, the site already shows signs that the concept's a winner.  19 year old Owen McGrann has a vision here and I think he's already moving forward from being one of the "underappreciated."  His own writing borders on profound — a piece talking about people who "have lost the dreamer in them" threw my mind into some serious thinking and a stroll through over a dozen splashes he designed (which appear randomly when you enter the site) was an enjoyable visual experience.  A number of designers have submitted stuff and what we have here is an open door to all — I only hope people keep responding and submitting — a truly great site is in the making here.  The spirit of the web is alive and well, thanks to people like Owen whose motivation is in exactly the right place.
   
• MoserArt 10/7/00 
  Description: Critics call Moser a major artist compared to Goya, Francis Bacon and the Renaissance masters.
  Comments: Today's pick is a beautiful site full of art from a contemporary artist who some consider to be a master — I was particularly impressed with the commentary about the individual works and found this site quite engaging... go enjoy!
  
  
  
  I'm sure to get at least 2 or 3 e-mails today from irate users whining about how unfair it is that I won't feature their commercial sites — yet here I picked another site that displays the works of an artist who obviously makes his living selling his art and that makes me a hypocrite, etc., etc., etc. 
  
  
  
  Today's pick (which was not submitted) is an opportunity to clarify what I consider to be commercial or non-commercial around here because it's an excellent example of an important distinction I make when reviewing a site — like it or don't like it, I'm taking the time to explain in the hopes that those complainers I hear from day in a day out will find something better to do today — CoolSTOP is not a commercial website promotion vehicle.  Here it is, pure and simple — on the "information" page of today's pick, a simple "mailto" link "to request information on price and availability of original Moser works" is the only phrase anywhere on the site that has anything to do with the fact that the artist sells his art.  The pages displaying his masterful works do not have prices or "buy" links and no pages have sales pitches.  If you're one of those many designers who keep submitting sites full of claims about how wonderful your services are and how you can help businesses take full advantage of the new media, etc., stop and compare what your site is like compared to what I describe above.  I have nothing against commercial sites and wish you the best, but I don't feature selling sites at CoolSTOP.  If you still don't get it, I guess I'll be hearing from you shortly...
   
• Kelly Magazine 10/4/00 
  Description: an interactive magazine for women and men of the new millennium (Flash)
  Comments: There's an interesting discrepancy between the information found in the title and description of today's pick, when you view the source in the <head> of the main page.  The title tells you that it's a site for women, while the description says it's for women and men... the title is more accurate, though I'll admit I enjoyed some of the content as well.  My guess is that the description is there for the search engines — and so it goes in the world of the web. 
  
  
  
  I really like the way today's pick uses Flash and the framed navagation scheme works well with this type of site.  It's a true online magazine and is surprisingly non-commercial in its presentation.  Though there's probably some revenue being generated here, perhaps in the "stocklists" section, it's not presented as sales pitches and affiliate links with that "buy now" sorta attitude.  That makes a difference sometimes in my perception as to whether a site is commercial or non-commercial (let that be a subtle lesson to those who wanna argue with me about my not featuring sites that only have something to sell, but nothing to say!).  As far as content goes, there's a bunch of it offered here — some of it will appeal to a narrow, very specific type of audience (in my opinion), while much of it will appeal to a much broader audience.  This site is done exceptionally well, and I'd say check it out regardless of your gender — if nothing else, it's an excellent example of design savvy...
   
• Protein° OS 10/2/00 
  Description: media medicine
  Comments: "We are simple people.  We like beautiful brains."  Almost what I'd call an online mag (but not overly embellished like most), today's pick reminds me that there's intelligent life on the planet.  Okay, so they've pulled off a great simple design, which is not surprising when you consider that it's produced by a not-too-shabby design group in London... just kidding guys — outstanding design firm would have been more accurate.  But, it's the content here that grabs me — up to the minute and relevant, the well-written articles, related to all thing techy and digital, are divided into a number of appropriately named channels — Radar, Tech, Amino, Monitor, Sonar, Evolve, and Zone.  As the site's name implies, we're talking major nutrition here, or more accurately, yummy brainfood that "is sure to satify any discerning digital diet."  There's gobs of interesting stuff from a number of contributors who are obviously part of the generation "that has reconditioned their own genetic future."  I am intrigued....
   
• American Museum of the Moving Image 10/1/00 
  Description: integrating works of art, artifacts, audiovisual presentations, and computer based interactive exhibits
  Comments: Calling the moving image "the most powerful artistic and cultural influence of the twentieth century," the museum behind today's winning site boasts an offline collection of more than 83,000 artifacts related to media art forms.  Though I guess you have to be in New York to experience the full impact of what the museum offers, the site delivers some excellent content about how film and television relate to culture.  "The Living Room Candidate" is the feature I heard about that brought me their way in the first place — clips of political campaign advertising dating back to 1952 are presented.  If you think the current presidential race is a joke, just take a look at some of these clips and you might realize that it's par for the course.  There's plenty more to take in here... learn about various "moving image machines" or check out the cool section on video arcade games.  I like the various new media that this site utilizes to present content about the old media... it ties together rather nicely, in my mind, anyway....